


The Compromise

by bigbangtheory123



Category: The Big Bang Theory (TV)
Genre: F/M, Newborn, Parenthood, Sleepless nights, baby girl - Freeform
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-05-31
Updated: 2020-05-31
Packaged: 2021-03-02 22:06:46
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,076
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/24473998
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/bigbangtheory123/pseuds/bigbangtheory123
Summary: With a newborn baby and Sheldon’s anxieties all over the place. How will Amy cope?Originally posted on FF.net
Relationships: Sheldon Cooper/Amy Farrah Fowler
Comments: 2
Kudos: 23





	The Compromise

**Author's Note:**

> This is a follow on from Hello Little One 
> 
> Prompt requested on FF.net by nirvana1996 and smkffnut.

Night suddenly descended on the city of Pasadena, the dull grey sky from the cold winters morning transformed into darkness. The twinkle of stars lit up the sky, the moon absent in the sea of blackness. The air was cold and an icy breeze blew, the kind of breeze that told you snow was imminent. 

Tonight was Amy and Sheldon’s first night in their own apartment with their daughter, Emily Sophie Cooper. Emily had been a name Amy loved since she was a little girl, whenever Amy would play games as a child she would always insist on being called Emily. Sheldon, throughout the pregnancy wasn’t keen on the name, but as soon as he laid eyes on his baby girl, Emily seemed like the perfect fit. 

The sudden responsibility they felt was huge, they had left the hospital earlier that day and upon arriving home their new chapter dawned upon them, weighing heavy upon Sheldon’s shoulders. He and Amy were now responsible for this tiny little life, at the hospital they had the security of the flurry of medical staff that came in and out of their room, checking upon them making sure everything was okay. Now it was just the two of them. They had to raise her, keep her safe and healthy, bring her up to be a good person, when he thought about it too much, the pressure was a lot for Sheldon. 

They had spend most of the day just staring at her, they still couldn’t quite believe she was here and that they had managed to make something so perfect. They were geniuses after all but even this seemed to blow their minds. Now that night had fallen, both parents were well and truly exhausted, they had managed to grab the old few minutes over the last 48 hours but it had been nothing compared to the 8 hours they were so desperately craving. 

“Shhh” Amy whispered as Sheldon entered the bedroom, clad in the warmest pair of pyjamas he could find. “I think she’s asleep” she kept her voice quiet in an attempt to not wake Emily. Amy had been pacing the room for the past half an hour, desperately trying to get her little girl to go to sleep. 

“Sorry” Sheldon muttered quietly closing the door behind him, being carefuly to make sure the click wasn’t too loud. Emily was pressed against her mother chest, her head resting upon her shoulder, her cheeks and lips softly squished in the cutest way as she snuggled into Amy. “She’s asleep” Sheldon whispered as he peaked over Amy’s shoulder, seeing his daughter sound asleep. Every time he looked at her, he felt his heart swell and himself fall more in love with her than before, he wondered if this would ever leave him.

“Oh, thank god for that” Amy sighed relieved that the constant pacing and gentle rocking had paid off. Sheldon carefully climbed into bed as Amy gently lay Emily down in the bassinet that was currently at her side of the bed. “I know she’ll be awake for a feed soon but I can’t wait to get a couple of hours sleep” she sounded so excited by the prospect as she climbed into bed next to Sheldon. “Oh how comfortable is this bed” she sighed contently as she let her sore muscles completely relax in to the mattress. It was only now that she was able to have a few minutes to herself that she realised how intense the past 48 hours had been, she had given birth to her daughter and survived a day as her mother all on the tiniest amount of sleep possible. She was pretty proud of herself. 

“It must be more comfortable than those hospitals bed” he agreed. “It’s definitely more pleasant than a plastic chair” he and spent the majority of his time at the hospital sat in a small chair by Amy’s bedside. They sat and allowed the minutes to tick by, both enjoying the comfortable peace and silence that fell upon them. A yawn from Amy reminded them both that they needed to sleep. “Good night” Sheldon leaned forward and placed a gentle kiss on Amy’s lips, they turned their bedside lights off and snuggled down to sleep.

It was half an hour later when Amy started to lose her patience with Sheldon. She was aware that some nights he was restless and struggled to sleep but she was hoping the exhaustion they both felt would make this easier. The rustling of the duvet as he moved to get comfortable was driving her mad.

“What’s wrong Sheldon?” Amy sighed as she sat up in bed, she refrained from turning on the light. 

“I can’t sleep” he too pushed himself up on his elbows. “I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to keep you awake” he did feel guilty, he knew how important it was that Amy was well rested. “I’m worried about Emily. Is she okay?” 

“She’s fine” Amy would have normally found this protective, concerned behaviour incredibly sweet but her lack of sleep was provoking a different reaction. 

“I just need to check” he flicked on the lamp next to his bed and pulled back the duvet.

“Sheldon, she’s okay” Amy sighed. She was already panicking that the light would cause her to stir and wake up. She could not wake up, not yet. She hadn’t got any sleep. 

“I just need to check she’s breathing” he was stood by the bassinet, looking down at her as she slept. He could see her chest gently rising and falling below the blankets. He relaxed for a split second. “Do you think she’s warm enough? It’s chilly tonight” he whispered. He reached down and placed a hand to her forehead. “Do you think she’s too warm?” he asked.

Amy knew that if Emily was too warm she would become restless, despite wanting to protest she soon found herself at Sheldon’s side watching over Emily. She too reached down to feel her forehead, concluding that she felt absolutely fine. 

“Sheldon, she feels fine” she told him trying to keep her patience as best as she could. 

“Do you think we should take her temperature” Sheldon suggested. “Just to check.” 

“Please can we just go back to bed” Amy pleaded. “All three of us need to sleep” Sheldon wanted to protest, he wanted to wake up his little girl and make sure she was okay but seeing the pleading look in Amy’s eyes made him reconsider. It was a matter of seconds before they were both climbing back into bed. 

———

The next morning, with a free day on her hands Penny popped over to pay the new family of three a visit. She had been bursting with excitement to meet Emily as soon as she heard about her arrival however, she wanted to be considerate and give Amy and Sheldon some time to adjust to this crazy new time in their lives. An early morning text from Amy inviting her over changed all that. 

“Amy, she really is so beautiful” for someone that claimed to not want children or even like them, Penny was absolutely smitten with Emily as she held her for the first time. Despite Penny insisting she was more than happy to do it, Amy stood in the kitchen making coffee

“Thank you” Amy was already so proud of the little person she created. “I think so too” she smiled. 

“You are just a perfect little thing aren’t you, yes you really are” Penny cooed. She couldn’t wait to be the fun auntie who fed her sweets when her parents weren’t looking and be that person to teach her just how to wind up her father. “How are you and Sheldon coping?” she asked, taking her gaze off of Emily and looking up at Amy who was making her way towards her with a mug of coffee

“Okay. Last night was hard” Amy admitted, the lack of sleep still weighing heavy on her body. “Sheldon was...”

“Just being Sheldon” Penny laughed knowing exactly what her best friends husband was like.

“Yes” Amy nodded. “He kept wanting to check that she was breathing and that she was the right temperature. I was willing to let the first time slide. I almost found it sweet but the second, third and forth time when he was hovering over her and she woke up and decided to scream the place down every single time. Not so sweet” she sighed rubbing at her eyes. 

“Oh sweetie. I’m sorry. Where is Sheldon now?” Penny asked noticing his absence. Amy pointed to the bedroom, it was only now that Penny noticed the door was closed.

“He’s asleep” Amy told a Penny who could sense the bitterness in her tone. 

“I could watch her for you if you wanted to get some rest” Penny offered, she wasn’t great with babies but Emily seemed very laid back, already a contrast to her father. Even it was just for an hour, Penny felt confident that she could do it.

“That’s kind of you but she’ll need to be fed soon” Amy explained. She decided to avoid the details about how Sheldon’s fussing over her the previous night and her waking up every hour probably severely disrupted the routine Amy was so desperate to get her into.

-———

Penny left a couple of hours later after a few more cups of coffee and copious amounts of snuggles with Emily. Amy enjoyed the catch up with Penny, despite having to feed Emily halfway through, it had been a nice distraction from the mum life that she seemed to have very much been in the mists of for the past three days. She absolutely adored Emily and being a mum but even after three days she couldn’t quite remember what their life was like without her.

“Where are you going?” Sheldon asked when he finally decided to wake up and leave the bedroom. He found Amy stood by the door all wrapped up in her winter coat, a scarf wound around her neck and her hands gloved. Emily was in her pram, all snuggly and wrapped up. 

“We’re going to take a walk” she told him. She thought the fresh air might do her some good, although the weather wasn’t exactly calling for people to leave their homes, she enjoyed being out in the open and she hadn’t left the house since returning home from hospital with Emily. 

“Okay” Sheldon chirped, his nearly three hour sleep had left him rather perky, something which Amy started to resent him for. Was he not going to offer to watch Emily while she slept? Was he not going to offer to join them or suggest he take Emily for a walk instead. Before Amy could think anymore about how much her husband was driving her mad, he was at her side peering over the pram checking on Emily. “Hi Emily” he smiled as she started to wriggle around in the pram, excitingly kicking her legs causing the blanket Amy had wrapped her up in to slip off. 

Sheldon knew she was maybe still a little young but he was sure she knew his voice, knew who he was and that he was her father. He had read that babies didn’t recognise voices until around a week old but their child after all was destined to be a genius. 

“Have you got everything you need?” Sheldon asked as Amy readjusted the blanket around their daughter. 

“It’s a quick walk around the block Sheldon, I don’t need anything” she told him.

“But what if something happens. What if it suddenly gets too cold and you don’t have enough blankets or if you hurt yourself or Emily hurts herself or...”

“Sheldon” Amy sighed. He knew he was being irrational, but they both just meant so much to him he could stop his thought process from going crazy. Amy pushed herself up on to her tiptoes to place a kiss goodbye to his check. “I love you” 

“Love you too” 

—————

It was the fifth day when Amy finally snapped. It hadn’t been over anything huge, Sheldon had left some science papers by an open window that had subsequently blown over all over the apartment. She was crouched down picking them up when he entered the living room from his shower.

“What happened here?” he asked as he scooted past her to make a mug of tea.

“You left the window open” she shot back at him as she rose to her feet and flung the papers back on the table. He watched her as he poured his tea, he still wasn’t great at reading people’s emotions but after all these years with Amy, he knew at least when she was a little annoyed at him.

“Amy, have I done something wrong?” he asked a little unsure. He couldn’t recall anything but yet her behaviour was saying otherwise. 

“Now you ask” Amy shouted throwing her hands up in the air in exasperation. “You keep waking Emily up at night, you don’t let me sleep, you panic over the slightest thing, you constantly question everything I do” she reeled off everything using her fingers to count them. She could feel her voice growing louder and as soon as she saw Sheldon’s face fall, she started to cry. She pushed the palms of her hands into her eyes. 

He felt his heart sink he hadn’t meant for her to get so upset, he hadn’t realised that he had been making her feel so low. They both knew that lack of sleep played a huge part in this. Amy knew better than most how irritable and moody people became when sleep was taken from them, how it impaired their thought process and decision making. Maybe this was hers taking affect right now. 

Sheldon moved round the island in the kitchen in an attempt to get closer to her. Again, he didn’t know what she wanted him to do. Did she want to cry and shout at him or did she want to be comforted. He slowly moved his arms around her, a little anxious of her reaction however, when she fell into his chest he relaxed and tightened his hold. 

“I just feel like sometimes I’m on my own” her voice mumbled as she spoke into the fabric of his shirt. Sheldon hadn’t really been a huge help, simply because he couldn’t do all that much. Amy was breastfeeding and so far hadn’t decided to express so Sheldon could even feed Emily. He did however sit up with Amy most nights to keep her company. On one occasion he had offered to change her diaper but due to his aversion to germs it proved to be quite a difficult task. It was easier for Amy to just do it herself. 

He held her for a little longer, he realised that in the past five days that their physical contact had been pretty limited. Maybe that was due to how he had been acting. Had he pushed Amy away? Did she not want to be around him? He was never really a very physical person but he knew how important it was to Amy to have the odd kiss and cuddle. He made a note himself there and then to show her more affection, she was clearly more fragile than he first thought. 

“Why don’t you sit down and I’ll make you some tea” he offered as she pulled away from him, breaking the hug. 

“I don’t want tea, Sheldon” Amy sighed as she wiped away her tears. 

“You don’t have a choice. You’re upset” he told her as he went back to the kitchen and poured her a cup. She suddenly found herself smiling at her husband and his ridiculous ways. She moved over to the sofa, perching herself on the edge as Sheldon came over to join her.

“Thank you” she muttered as he passed Amy her tea. 

They sat for a while in silence, for the first time in a long time the silence between them was awkward. Sheldon tried to search for the right words, he wanted to say the right thing the first time. He wanted to reassure Amy that she wasn’t alone, as long as he was around she would never have to worry about being on her own.

“Amy” he turned her body towards her, she matched his action, their knees gently knocking together. “I don’t want us to be one of those couples that fall apart because they’ve had a baby.”

“I don’t want that either” he reached forward and took hold of her hand, giving it a gentle squeeze. They both knew it was going to be hard work, they were under no illusion of that but they were a good team. They could make this work. 

“I can’t read emotions well” he looked almost guilty for failing in that area. “Sometimes I don’t know what you want me to do. You need to communicate with me, Amy. If something is bothering you or if you feel I’m not supporting you enough. I want you to tell me” 

“It would be nice if you just knew” her voice was gentle this time when she spoke. She knew it was hard for him but she hasn’t anticipated how much harder it would be when you threw a newborn baby into the mix. She wished that he could just offer to do things because he could see was feeling down or overwhelmed but then she loved him just the way he was. He wouldn’t be her Sheldon if he changed.

“Okay, well how about if you promise to communicate with me, I’ll try really hard to figure out what you’re feeling” Sheldon was never one to compromise but in that moment he made sense of all of Amy’s worries, it was actually rather ‘father-like’ of him, similar to how parents resolve sibling squabbles. She suddenly felt very proud of him. 

“I can work with that” she agreed. 

“Well it’s either that or a contract” 

“Absolutely not” Amy laughed as she curled her body into his side and he draped his arm around her. “This is nice. We need to make more time for this.” 

“We do” he agreed. “But right now, you need to sleep” he pulled her closer to him as he placed a kiss to the top of her head.

**Author's Note:**

> Thank you so much for reading. Please leave a review :) 
> 
> If anyone is interested prompt requests are still open. xx


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